WICHITA, Kansas — The incumbent candidate in the race for Kansas Secretary of State, Kris Kobach, a Republican, spoke with KSN News over the phone to respond to the latest KSN News Poll released Tuesday, August 26.

Reacting to the poll results, Kobach responded, “It’s still pretty early in the campaign. We’re still two and a half months out, so I think the poll numbers are probably a little ‘soft,’ meaning they’re going to change as time goes on.”

“A lot of people haven’t yet bothered to find out yet where the candidates stand on the issues, but those people will find out in the next few months, so I think there’s a lot of movement yet to go in the poll numbers,” continued Kobach.

Regarding Voter ID:

“In my particular race, I think the defining issue is going to be proof of citizenship,” said Secretary of State Kobach.

“As people learn that I’m the candidate who brought proof of citizenship to Kansas elections, and that my opponent she is opposed to proof of citizenship laws, that will make the decision for many of them,” said Kobach.

Kobach told KSN that people who like “proof of citizenship protection” should vote for him; those who oppose “proof of citizenship protection” he said, should vote for his opponent, Jean Schodorf.

“I think you’ll see that most people learn the very, very sharp division between me and my opponent on proof of citizenship. I think you’ll see the poll numbers move again,” said Kobach.

“… A lot of people do see immigration as a big issue and a Secretary of State’s race, and that’s probably because of all the work I’ve done over the course of my career to stop illegal immigration all across the country,” argued Kobach. “It’s an issue people care about and many voters, I think believe, that that’s something that should be reflected in their voting.”

“If people support what I’ve done to stop illegal immigration, both at the federal level when I worked for the Bush administration and at the state level in supporting states like Arizona, then I hope they’ll support me because I’m going to continue that fight in my spare time,” said Kobach.